Been quiet here…coming back with a hot take on Amazon Prime Day that we sent to our clients earlier today. Bottom line: Event was massive for Amazon devices and products but lost a bit of excitement from previous years with the timing push and limited marketing.

1. Business strong but nowhere near as dramatic as previous year events
Most of the brands we manage, license or own all saw Tuesday and Wednesday sales figures up considerably versus the average Tuesday and Wednesday. Those that are established on the platform for years have seen 30-70% growth rates whilst newer, less established brands have seen 200-500% growth.

2. Amazon products were front and center
Prime Day originally started as a driver to sell Amazon Prime subscriptions. As Amazon began to reach a saturation point in the US and UK for subscriptions, the focus of the home page(s) has become Amazon devices and private label products with a major focus on Alexa devices and grocery. The most aggressive and promoted deals were those for Amazon products.

3. Advertising costs were up significantly
Our cost per clicks (on Amazon) and cost per impressions (off Amazon) were dramatically higher. Amazon Advertising is now table stakes for most brands. This has led to more demand and higher costs. We are also seeing a pullback by Amazon on funding off Amazon marketing for brand product they do not own. On average we saw a 25-43% increase in the cost of a click or impression.